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The RKO Features: A Complete Filmography of the Feature Films Released or Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, 1929-1960
Noted for its "B" westerns, RKO also produced several movie classics; two were Citizen Kane and Gunga Din. Comprehensive filmographic data are included here for all of the studio's title, year of release, production credits, cast, genre, running time, alternate titles, availability on videocassette, and plot synopsis. Many entries give background information on the film's production and stars.
344 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1994
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May 4, 2020
Very handy guide to the entire output of RKO Radio Pictures feature films in one compact volume. 1008 films with cast, credits, synopsis and notes are listed in alphabetical order and two-column style. A number of stills and poster art accompany the text.
Among a few of the studio's highlights: Best Picture Academy Award for "Cimarron"; the first "Little Women"; scooping 4 Oscars for John Ford's "The Informer" (1935); the classic Fred Astaire - Ginger Rogers musicals; the iconic "King Kong"; "Gunga Din"; "Kitty Foyle"; the Orson Welles masterwork "Citizen Kane; "It's a Wonderful Life"; the Hitchcock duo "Suspicion" and "Notorious" and being the distributor for the Samuel Goldwyn productions "The Pride of the Yankees" and "The Best Years of Our Lives".
Also noted for its many fine film noirs (including "Crossfire"/"On Dangerous Ground"/ "The Set-Up"' "Cornered"/ "Clash by Night"/ "They Live by Night"/ "Out of the Past"/"While the City Sleeps"/ "The Narrow Margin"/ "The Woman in the Window"), many much-loved B-Westerns and a series of distinctive "horrors" from the Val Lewton production team including "Cat People"/ "I Walked with a Zombie"/ "The 7th. Victim"/ "The Ghost Ship"/ "The Curse of the Cat People"/ "Isle of the Dead"/ "The Body Snatcher" and "Bedlam"
The studio began to go downhill after the erratic Howard Hughes bought it in 1948 and finally went clunk when sold to a television corporation in 1955. RKO continued to produce films until 1957 (mainly distributed by Universal-International/ last film: "The Unholy Wife" with Diana Dors & Rod Steiger) and in its final years, released a few films mostly from Britain.
"RKO Radio Pictures was born in 1929 when Radio Corporation of America (RCA) President David Sarnoff joined with Joseph P. Kennedy, believing that the talking picture revolution would enable him to test his RCA sound system with motion pictures. Sarnoff and Kennedy merged the FBO studios with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum vaudeville circuit, providing the studio with theaters to show their films."
Among a few of the studio's highlights: Best Picture Academy Award for "Cimarron"; the first "Little Women"; scooping 4 Oscars for John Ford's "The Informer" (1935); the classic Fred Astaire - Ginger Rogers musicals; the iconic "King Kong"; "Gunga Din"; "Kitty Foyle"; the Orson Welles masterwork "Citizen Kane; "It's a Wonderful Life"; the Hitchcock duo "Suspicion" and "Notorious" and being the distributor for the Samuel Goldwyn productions "The Pride of the Yankees" and "The Best Years of Our Lives".
Also noted for its many fine film noirs (including "Crossfire"/"On Dangerous Ground"/ "The Set-Up"' "Cornered"/ "Clash by Night"/ "They Live by Night"/ "Out of the Past"/"While the City Sleeps"/ "The Narrow Margin"/ "The Woman in the Window"), many much-loved B-Westerns and a series of distinctive "horrors" from the Val Lewton production team including "Cat People"/ "I Walked with a Zombie"/ "The 7th. Victim"/ "The Ghost Ship"/ "The Curse of the Cat People"/ "Isle of the Dead"/ "The Body Snatcher" and "Bedlam"
The studio began to go downhill after the erratic Howard Hughes bought it in 1948 and finally went clunk when sold to a television corporation in 1955. RKO continued to produce films until 1957 (mainly distributed by Universal-International/ last film: "The Unholy Wife" with Diana Dors & Rod Steiger) and in its final years, released a few films mostly from Britain.
"RKO Radio Pictures was born in 1929 when Radio Corporation of America (RCA) President David Sarnoff joined with Joseph P. Kennedy, believing that the talking picture revolution would enable him to test his RCA sound system with motion pictures. Sarnoff and Kennedy merged the FBO studios with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum vaudeville circuit, providing the studio with theaters to show their films."
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